1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed to word processing application programs. More specifically, the present invention is directed to method of Managing items on a clipboard.
2. Description of Related Art
Most word processing application programs allow a user to remove or copy a block of text, an audio or video clip, graphics etc. from a document and to transfer them to another location in the document or to another document altogether. To remove an item (i.e., a block of text, an audio or video clip, or graphics etc.) from the document is generally referred to as “cut” whereas to copy the item is referred to as “copy”. To transfer the cut or copied item to another location of the document or to another document is referred to as “paste”.
When an item is cut or copied from a document, it is ordinarily transferred to a temporary buffer called a clipboard. This allows the user to later paste the item at the other location in the document or in the other document. Note that copying and cutting an item from a document will henceforth be referred to as copying the item onto the clipboard or plainly “to copy”.
Presently, a plurality of items may be copied onto the clipboard. However, once there the items may not be manipulated (e.g., they may not be consolidated into one item).
Consequently, there is a need for a method of managing items on a clipboard.